America as Boarding House
A story has been making the rounds lately on the conservative side of the Internet, yet another "can you believe this?" story which has become the desperately sad hallmark of political discourse on the right. It's the same story every day, from National Review to Rush Limbaugh: you post or talk about something outrageous that the liberals have done or brought us to and then you....then you......then you.....
Well, then you do nothing. "Quietly seethe", I suppose is the answer. Anything but suggest an answer or a course of action, because to do so would be to be forced to take issue with our current civic religion-liberalism-and that is frankly a bigger job than our oh-so-brave mainstream conservatives can bring themselves to do.
Take the latest such story. It's making the rounds today for the second day in a row, having moved from the minor sites to the Corner:
Yes, Jonah? And? This means, what? Yes, it's upsetting, but what does it mean? Mr. Goldberg [who, I should note, seems to me a very decent sort with his heart in the right place whose writing is frequently quite good] doesn't say.
But we can. Let's think about this for a moment. What does this story mean?
What does Brenda Elvidge mean when she says "This is America and that's an American tradition?"
First, we can note that such a reaction is common. All across America, European-American parents have rolled their eyes and worried a bit as Christmas vacation became "Winter Break" and Thanksgiving Day became a day to study the unjust oppression of the native Americans by religious nuts.
Second, we have to regrettably note that despite this and despite Ms Elvidge's plea that the blindingly obvious be recognized, that none of those Americans have any basis upon which to complain.
What Ms Elvidge and other similarly-situated Americans don't realize is that their understanding of who they are and what their country is has been repealed. There are no traditions to call upon and America is whatever anyone here chooses to say it is. This isn't a matter of view or opinion. This is what America officially is now. The sad thing about conservatives today is they keep making appeals to America without realizing that "America" doesn't mean what they think it means.
They've had the floor cut out from beneath them; the horrible reality is just so painful that they haven't realized this yet.
The reason for this is the key tenet of the liberal revolution which has transformed our country: America as a propositional country.
Once you understand this, once you understand that in the course of a generation our nation has come from being a nation made up of a specific people, with a specific history, specific values and specific traditions to being a nation of immigrants, where everybody's history is as good as anyone else's, where values are culturally relative and where anyone's traditions work, the rest follows as a matter of course.
America as an idea, as an abstraction that anyone can hew too, is our current and quite dominant civic religion. It is shared by liberals and conservatives alike, by both Kos and Jonah Goldberg, by both President Clinton and President Bush.
That this is so is unremarkable. It's like saying the sky is blue. What is more amazing is that so many average Americans don't realize that this change has occurred, let alone what it means.
Listen to the words of President Clinton, speaking to graduates of the Portland State University way back in 1998:
Just so. And note the President's view: this is mandated by the guarantees of our Constitution, not to mention the "better angels of our nature." There is no majority race, there will be no majority race, and America is just an empty vessel to be filled with whatever race or group of immigrants that fill it up.
And so, you see Ms. Elvidge, you have it wrong. Your complaint is anti-American, anti-Constitution and anti-the-better-angels-of-our-nature. America is whoever happens to be here. And their traditions are just as valid as yours. Your call for tradition is just as small-minded as the famous "no dogs or Irish" sign.
I try to imagine being a college kid and applauding the withering away of my people and my heritage and cheering and the mind reels.
Make no mistake about it. There exists in America today two distinct groups of people. One believes that their history, their traditions, their people should endure. The other thinks that their history is one of oppression and violence, that the traditions were excuses for that oppression and that their people is whoever they call brother.
And what generally happens when two people with competing visions of the future proclaim possession of the same territory and claim the right to speak on its behalf?
Well, then you do nothing. "Quietly seethe", I suppose is the answer. Anything but suggest an answer or a course of action, because to do so would be to be forced to take issue with our current civic religion-liberalism-and that is frankly a bigger job than our oh-so-brave mainstream conservatives can bring themselves to do.
Take the latest such story. It's making the rounds today for the second day in a row, having moved from the minor sites to the Corner:
Someone Restrain Mark Steyn [Jonah Goldberg]
This just in:
(CBS) OAK LAWN, Ill. A southwest suburban school district has taken action, responding to the concerns of a Muslim parent.
But now, as CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot reports, other parents are angry that traditional school holidays will be renamed or even eliminated.
"That does not represent all the Muslims, all of the Arabs at that school," said Qais Nofel, the father of a student in Ridgeland School District 122.
There was some heated discussion between parents outside Columbus Manor Elementary School in Oak Lawn on Friday. The thought of no more traditional holiday celebrations has many parents really upset.
For now, children in Ridgeland School District 122 will celebrate fall festival instead of Halloween and winter festival instead of Christmas.
Brenda Elvidge said, "It's not fair to our kids. This is America and that's an American tradition."
Yes, Jonah? And? This means, what? Yes, it's upsetting, but what does it mean? Mr. Goldberg [who, I should note, seems to me a very decent sort with his heart in the right place whose writing is frequently quite good] doesn't say.
But we can. Let's think about this for a moment. What does this story mean?
What does Brenda Elvidge mean when she says "This is America and that's an American tradition?"
First, we can note that such a reaction is common. All across America, European-American parents have rolled their eyes and worried a bit as Christmas vacation became "Winter Break" and Thanksgiving Day became a day to study the unjust oppression of the native Americans by religious nuts.
Second, we have to regrettably note that despite this and despite Ms Elvidge's plea that the blindingly obvious be recognized, that none of those Americans have any basis upon which to complain.
What Ms Elvidge and other similarly-situated Americans don't realize is that their understanding of who they are and what their country is has been repealed. There are no traditions to call upon and America is whatever anyone here chooses to say it is. This isn't a matter of view or opinion. This is what America officially is now. The sad thing about conservatives today is they keep making appeals to America without realizing that "America" doesn't mean what they think it means.
They've had the floor cut out from beneath them; the horrible reality is just so painful that they haven't realized this yet.
The reason for this is the key tenet of the liberal revolution which has transformed our country: America as a propositional country.
Once you understand this, once you understand that in the course of a generation our nation has come from being a nation made up of a specific people, with a specific history, specific values and specific traditions to being a nation of immigrants, where everybody's history is as good as anyone else's, where values are culturally relative and where anyone's traditions work, the rest follows as a matter of course.
America as an idea, as an abstraction that anyone can hew too, is our current and quite dominant civic religion. It is shared by liberals and conservatives alike, by both Kos and Jonah Goldberg, by both President Clinton and President Bush.
That this is so is unremarkable. It's like saying the sky is blue. What is more amazing is that so many average Americans don't realize that this change has occurred, let alone what it means.
Listen to the words of President Clinton, speaking to graduates of the Portland State University way back in 1998:
More than any other nation on Earth, America has constantly drawn strength and spirit from wave after wave of immigrants. In each generation, they have proved to be the most restless, the most adventurous, the most innovative, the most industrious of people. Bearing different memories, honoring different heritages, they have strengthened our economy, enriched our culture, renewed our promise of freedom and opportunity for all.
Of course, the path has not always run smooth. Some Americans have met each group of newcomers with suspicion and violence and discrimination. So great was the hatred of Irish immigrants 150 years ago that they were greeted with signs that read, "No Dogs Or Irish." So profound was the fear of Chinese in the 1880s that they were barred from entering the country. So deep was the distrust of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe at the beginning of this century that they were forced to take literacy tests specifically designed to keep them out of America.
Eventually, the guarantees of our Constitution and the better angels of our nature prevailed over ignorance and insecurity, over prejudice and fear.
But now we are being tested again -- by a new wave of immigration larger than any in a century, far more diverse than any in our history. Each year, nearly a million people come legally to America. Today, nearly one in ten people in America was born in another country; one in five schoolchildren are from immigrant families. Today, largely because of immigration, there is no majority race in Hawaii or Houston or New York City. Within five years there will be no majority race in our largest state, California. In a little more than 50 years there will be no majority race in the United States. (Applause.) No other nation in history has gone through demographic change of this magnitude in so short a time.
Just so. And note the President's view: this is mandated by the guarantees of our Constitution, not to mention the "better angels of our nature." There is no majority race, there will be no majority race, and America is just an empty vessel to be filled with whatever race or group of immigrants that fill it up.
And so, you see Ms. Elvidge, you have it wrong. Your complaint is anti-American, anti-Constitution and anti-the-better-angels-of-our-nature. America is whoever happens to be here. And their traditions are just as valid as yours. Your call for tradition is just as small-minded as the famous "no dogs or Irish" sign.
I try to imagine being a college kid and applauding the withering away of my people and my heritage and cheering and the mind reels.
Make no mistake about it. There exists in America today two distinct groups of people. One believes that their history, their traditions, their people should endure. The other thinks that their history is one of oppression and violence, that the traditions were excuses for that oppression and that their people is whoever they call brother.
And what generally happens when two people with competing visions of the future proclaim possession of the same territory and claim the right to speak on its behalf?
